Search Results

Showing 511 - 520 of 1468 results

Cases

Public Records

Sacramento Television Stations, Inc. v. Superior Court

This amicus brief argues that when police officers shoot at people, public agencies have to disclose recordings of the entire incident, not just a snippet before shots are fired, and that agencies cannot withhold such recordings without proving that disclosure would substantially interfere with an ongoing investigation by endangering a witness or confidential source or […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
January 11, 2025
Posts

First Amendment

FAC Calls on California City to End Unconstitutional Public Comment Policy

[…] with the U.S. Constitution. The ordinance states, "Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the City Council shall be forthwith, by directive of the Presiding Officer, be [sic] barred from further audience at such meeting before the City Council unless permission to continue is granted by […]
- Free Expression
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 8, 2022
Posts

FAC Opposes Bills that Weaken Open-Meetings Protections

[…] variety of local and state government bodies to avoid showing up to work in person. FAC opposes: SB 544 SB 411 SB 537 Read our coalition’s opposition letters for SB 544, SB 411, and SB 537. What editorial boards are saying: LA Times: It’s time for California’s public officials to return to work. In person. […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
July 12, 2023
Posts

California’s Computer Privacy Laws Require a Critical Update: SB 178 is it.

[…] don’t have time to get a warrant to prevent loss of life or bodily injury, the bill includes an emergency exception that is coupled with meaningful accountability requirements. S.B. 178 has already passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. But now we need a strong vote in the Assembly and the Governor’s signature. […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 20, 2015
Latest News

Blog

Illegal immigrants have access rights too. The benefits of the Brown Act and Public Records Act do not depend on citizenship.

[…] answer is yes, they do. This is a question of some consequence in a state that is home to 3.4 million undocumented immigrants, whose eligibility (or ineligibility) for government benefits divides politicians in both parties. And yet this should be a less controversial issue because access rights, in contrast to most government entitlements, are […]

June 2, 2009
Latest News

Blog

How FAC Fights for Police Transparency

[…] people should be able to decide whether and to what extent they approve of law enforcement based on the full story, not just the official story. Yet for decades, California was a black hole of police transparency. Apart from a few circumstances, such as the names of officers who shot people, California law shielded […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 9, 2023
Latest News

Blog

Government officials use personal email and texting to avoid public access laws. Why not use technology to enhance accountability instead of to subvert it?

[…] government in principle. Who would dare say otherwise? In reality, however, they are in a perpetual search, guided by clever lawyers, for new ways to circumvent disclosure requirements--at best, because they view requests for records as a nuisance, and at worst, because they have something to hide (which can range from the merely embarrassing […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 22, 2009
Latest News

Advocacy Blog Cases

Four Open-Government Battles We Are Fighting and Why They Matter

[…] taken the position that no records in its possession involving officers who work for local law enforcement agencies around the state are subject to the new disclosure requirements under Senate Bill 1421. We strongly disagree, and so we brought this suit alongside KQED, which has this report on the case. 2. FAC’s Campaign for Police Transparency, […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
December 19, 2019
Latest News

Blog

After near-death in Supreme Court, will public employee unions change their ways?

[…] public support, and doing so through persuasion in free and open debate. This strategy worked pretty well for these unions in the 1950s and 60s, when their agenda was more in sync with the desires of voters. Over the long term, it is the unions' only viable strategy. Peter Scheer is Executive Director of […]
- Free Expression
March 30, 2016
Asked and Answered

CPRA Police Records

Sheriff’s office denies access to 2004 arrest documents saying too much time has elapsed

[…] There are exceptions for information the disclosure of which would interfere with an ongoing investigation or endanger a witness. However, as the sheriff's office represented, these disclosure requirements apply only to contemporaneous records. County of Los Angeles v. Superior Court, 18 Cal. App. 4th 588 (1993). It is unclear for how long past the […]

October 4, 2011